Teenage girl escapes NYPD custody in Bronx

The scene where a 15-year-old girl escaped NYPD custody in hand cuffs at East 172nd street and Sheridan Ave. in the Bronx, Monday night. (Sam Costanza for New York Daily News)

A 15-year-old girl escaped police custody just a few blocks away from a Bronx precinct Monday night, police sources said.

The teenage grand larceny suspect made a run for it at about 8:40 p.m. near Taft High School at the corner of E. 172nd St. and Sheridan Ave. in Claremont — about a half-mile from the 44th Precinct stationhouse. She was still wearing handcuffs, cops said.

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“She looked like a regular, ordinary girl, but scared,” said one witness, who saw the girl running down Sheridan Ave. “She ran right down the street, and then there were all these cops. You’d think it was a homicide or something.”

Police describe the teen as black, wearing all-black clothing.

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A phalanx of cops, including K-9 units, an NYPD helicopter, and Emergency Services Unit officers with shields and body armor, descended on a six-story apartment building on Sheridan Ave. by E. 172nd St.

They blocked off the street as officers checked each floor, going door to door looking for the girl.